Hopoate finger must stay: Council

Tony Moore

Brisbane City Council has come to the rescue of an Eagle Street sculpture that gave rise to the "Hopoate Building" moniker.

Sebastian Di Mauro's landmark aluminium sculpture of a finger pointing to the sky will be required to be returned to its original location as a condition of a $25 million refurbishment of 175 Eagle Street.

Related Articles

A spokeswoman for Charter Hall said it would return the sculpture to the building, but could not confirm it would be returned permanently because they planned major changes to the ground floor of the building.

Cr Schrinner said the sculpture was commissioned as a condition of the building's development approval and Di Mauro's sculpture had to stay.

Advertisement

"The public art has to remain in an area where people can access or view the work," he said.

You will now receive updates fromSpencer Howson AM / PM Newsletter

Spencer Howson AM / PM Newsletter

"It's become a well known part of Brisbane's streetscape and I look forward to its return once the repairs have been made.

"The developer can, in consultation with the original artist, relocate the work as long as it remains visible to the public."

Although the sculpture is called Chat, it has become popularly known as the "Hopoate finger", a reference to former rugby league player John Hopoate who in 2001 gained notoriety for poking opposing players in the backside.

Mr Di Mauro said he had not been informed about his work being vandalised.

"I don't know exactly what damage has been done," he said.

"They never told me it had been damaged."

Mr Di Mauro, who has created several publicly commissioned works in Brisbane, is also a lecturer in fine arts at Griffith University,

He said he would like to see the artwork go back to its original location.

"It is a site specific work and so should stay in the location where it was conceptualised," he said.

"I would be very disappointed if the work was removed from view."

Mr Di Mauro appreciated the Hopoate reference was "not endearing", but said he was proud it had grabbed the public's attention.

"I am thrilled that the work has been appreciated by the community," he said.

"I feel that although the connotation of the name is not endearing it has become part of the social fabric of Brisbane's history.

"The work has done what I intended it to do. Create a marker for the building and its location."

In a statement yesterday, the Charter Hall spokeswoman would not comment on the future of the Mr Di Mauro's sculpture.

"As mentioned yesterday, we are currently in the design phase of the $25m refurbishment project for 175 Eagle Street and as such it is too early to comment on the details of the project," she said.

"Any changes to the design of the building and forecourt will go through the normal planning process with council."